M6| 



AFFAIRS 



AT 



FORT CHARTRES 



1768-1781. 



AFFAIRS 



FORT C H A R T K E S 



1768-1781 



/ 




ALBANY: 

J. MUNSELL, 78 STATE STREET. 
1864. 



F^ 



^1 



,-p4'-s& 



AFFAIRS AT FORT CHARTRES, 17681781. 



[From the lUslorical Magazine, Vol. VIII, No. 8.] 



The kindness of one of our historical stu- 
dents enables us to f;ivc our readers the fol- 
lowing curious letusrs, dated chiefly at Fort 
Chartrcs, and giving impressions of the 
western country as un English officer found 
it aftor the pacification effected by much 
toil, at the close of I'ontiac's bold endeav- 
or to recover by a combined effort of the 
aboriginal tribes what all French valor 
had failed to accomplish. 

The period ol' the letters embraces the 
time when that great chief of the Ottawas 
fell at Cahiikia, beneath the knife of an as- 
sassin, hired b}- an Englishman, but unfor- 
tunately the writer, not knowing how pos- 
terity Would thank him for details of the 
event, makes no allusion to it, although he 
mentions some of its speedy results. 

Fort Chartres is now a ruin on the bank 
of the Mississippi, with part of its walls 
swept away by the turbid tide, and a dense 
forest around, towering trees even growing 
in its very midst, so that a stranger unac- 
quainted with ita history might easily attri- 
bute it to some early race. It stands near 
Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, and was built in 
1720, at a distance of a mile from the Mis- 
sissippi. It was repaired in 1750, and at 
the time of these letters, owing to a new 
channel furmed by the river, was not over 
eighty yards from the water. It was a well 
built stone fort, of irregular form, the sides 
being about 490 feet each. 

Alter the surrender of the country it was 
left in command of St. Angc do Hollerive. 
an old and experienced othcer who hold 
command during the dangerous period of 
Pontiac's conspiracy, which had made it im- 
possible fur the Euglisb authorities to re- 



place him. In vain did Major Loftus, with 
400 regulars, attempt to reach it by way of 
New Orleans. Volleys from hidden foes on 
the shores drove him back with lo.ss and 
panic to the new Spanish town; in vain 
('apt. I'itman made a subsequent attempt to 
penetrate in disguise, he lost heart and re- 
tired ; in vain did Lt. Fraser seek to reach 
it overland. Narrowly escaping with life 
he reached New Orleans also in disguise, to 
add doubtless to the ill-concealed amusement 
of the French and Spanish officers, at these 
ineffectual attempts of the English to get 
to one of their own Forts. 

When Croghan met Pontiae and peace 
was arranged, then and then only did Thom- 
as Stirling, who died in 1S08 a General and 
Haronet, now only a Captain, whohad fought 
bravely under Abercrombic and Amherst, 
lead from Fort Pitt one hundred of the 42nd 
Highlanders, and to him on the 10th of 
October, ITtJ""), did St. Ange surrender the 
Fort in a long document which the curious 
reader will find in the N. Y. Colonial Doc- 
uments. At last the flag of England floated 
in Illinois. On the 2d of December Major 
Robert Farmer, of the 34th Foot, arrived 
with a strong body of troops and assumed 
command. It is not unlikely that he died 
in 1708, as his name then disappears from 
the army lists. At all events Lt. Col. John 
Wilkins, an officer of considerable experi- 
ence, arrived there Sept. 5, 1708, and took 
command of the fort. The following letters 
give us a glimpse of his r^-gime. He was 
probably its last commandant, as Father 
Mississippi in 1772, carried by storm two 
bastiims and a curtain and the English 
struck their flag and abandoned Fort Char- 



Affairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781, 



tres, soon to yield tlie whole Illinois country 
to a new republic. 

Messrs. Editor : 

The correspondence, of which the follow- 
ing letters form a part, recently came into 
my temporary keeping, in the course of a 
genealogical investigation which I was pur- 
suing, and seemed worthy of preservation 
in your valuable Magazine. It consisted of 
various letters, bills, etc., addressed to one 
Capt. Thomas Barnsley of Bensaleni, Bucks 
Co. Penn., by various officers of the British 
Army, stationed at difl'erent posts in this 
country, and covered a period extending 
from '7(34 to '771. Capt. Barusley became 
Ensign of the 60th Keg. Dec. 26, 175.5, and 
as Lieut, in the Royal Americans was 
wounded at Ticonderoga July 8, 1758; be- 
came a Captain May 5, 1759, and, as appears 
from these documents, had been in '763 and 
'4 Paymaster to the First Battalion of 11. M. 
Iloyal American Regiment — and this corres- 
pondence sufficiently evidences the respect 
and confidence reposed in his character and 
judgment, as a man of business as well as a 
soldier, by all who bad any dealings with 
him. From Colonels to Ensigns — from offi- 
cial dignitaries to humble tailors — whether 
in America or in England — all seemed to 
make him their confidant — to seek his judg- 
ment — and to be content in his decision and 
advice. As for Ensign Butricke, the writer 
of these letters, we know little save what 
the letters themselves tell us. lie seems to 
have fully shared in the public confidence 
in Mr. Barnsley; wrote very long, xuiocand 
rather interesting letters, and, as far as we 
can learn, received not a single an.swcr from 
the Captain, yet without apparently suffer- 
ing any abatement of his previous respect 
and affection for that reticent personage. 

I, 

A Letter from Georqe Butrieke, dated Plul- 
adelphi,i,lMi Feb. '768, and addressed 
to Capt. Tlios. Barnsley, residinij at Bin- 
salcm — ■nvjstlij em private and iicruuierry 
matters. 
" Wc have no kind of news at present 

but that of Miss Hannah Boyts' marriage to 



3Ir. Bean, merchant, which I am much 
pleased with for particular Reasons, you 
know." 

" We in the Barrack are just as when 
you was in town, mostly in a Blaze with the 
fumes of that Dear friend Madiera, which 
seems to steal on them very powerfully, and 
very often makes the whole Barri*, as it 
were, a Hell indeed." 

II. 

To Copt. Tlwnias Barnslei/. 

PniLADELPiiiA, the 22d May, '768. 
Dear Sik : 

I have the pleasure to acquaint you that 
five Companies of our Regiment Rec' or- 
ders yesterday morning to be ready to march 
at six hours warning, under the Command 
of Col. Wilkin.s* for Fort Pitt, and as I am 
to proceed with them it prevents me having 
the pleasure to see you at Present, and to 
prevent there being any mistake betwixt us 
I have .sent my Servant, with the things I 
mentioned to you when you was here, Vizt : 
Seven hatts, 20 yards of furniture Chintz 
and Lace, Powder, flints. Ball, &c. 

I shall leave my Large Chest behind, with 
every thing in it I Cannot Carry, and as I 
know no person T can so well depend on as 
our Butcher Kirkcr, I propose to Leave it 
with him, with orders to deliver it to you 
should any thing happen to me, and before 
I Leave Town I will send you a list of what 
it Contains. 

III. 

A letter from Butricke to the same Capt. 
Barnsley, dated June 2."]d, 1768, at Phila- 
delphia, announces his recovery from his 
" late illness, so as to hope to be able to set 
off for Fort Pitt to-morrow morning." — 

* I.t. Col. Jolin Wilkins, Cfipt. S.'itli Fool Deo. 
30, \lfi5, was Major in 1762. He commamleil at 
Niagara. In 17(>3 he marched to relieve Detroit, 
but was attacked by tlie Indians, his troops cut 
to pieces, and he forced back to Fort Schlosser. 
He attempted next to reach it by water, but in a 
storm lost seventy uicn and was again compelled 
to return. In August, 1764, he was made Major 
of the 60th, and on the followiug June, Lt Col. 
of the 18th Royal Irish. (Compare Dr. O'Calla- 
ghan's note, Col. Doc. viii, 185. 



./iffairs at Fort Charlies, 1768-1781. 



Cumplains of the conduct of an Apothecary, 
ouc i};is.s, of that city &c. &c. 

IV. 

Fort CdarTKES, IStli Sept., 1768. 
Dkar Sir: 

1 liad the pleasure to write you the 24th 
June, the day before I left Philiidcl]ihia, 
and the 30''' I joined Colonel AVilkins at 
tho Crossings of Juniata, he had hcon 
detained 1 4 days by Col. Arnistrnnj;, for 
Want of Carriages. But lucky for nio he bad 
got thera a few d-nys before I joined him. 
I'he 14''' July we arrived at Fort Pitt, 
which is now a most shocking place ; the 
Works and Harracks arc all gone to Wreck, 
But the Country about it seems to be in a 
thriving way, a great number of settlers are 
already there, and many more Coming to it 
daily. 20'' July we embarked on the Ohio 
with five companys of the 7 we had 
Brought up. the other 2 Left there to gar- 
rison Fort i'itt. It would be needless fur 
nie to give you a detail of our Voyage, as we 
wettwith nothing metairil on it but the Loss 
of one man Prownded. From Fort I'itt to 
the Scioto Kivcr. which you will see by the 
List of the distances from F.ach place I send 
you inclosed, is iiGG miles. We met with 
Little or no game till we arriv'd there. 
But from thence to the falls, which is 31(i 
miles more, the River i.s covered with all 
kinds of Game. We killed so many BufTa- 
los that We commonly served out one a day 
to KachConipany,& they Commonly Wcigh'd 
from 4 to GOO lbs. W'.; they go in Ilirds 
of. 20, 30 & some times 50", some people 
fi.iy in 100- they have seen them. We had 
such plenty that when a Bull was killed we 
only took the tongue and left the Ilcst for 
the Wolves. Besides this there is the great- 
cstquantiticsof Turkies. neer,(leese, Ducks, 
Bears &c. I Believe tho Like is not to be 
seen in any part of the knnwn World. The 
River does not abound so much with fish as 
might be imagin'd, which I Believe is occa- 
sioned by there Being such r|uantitiesof Catt- 
fish, which are so liarge and Numerous that 
I think they destroy all other But the Turtle. 
Wc had such plenty of tliese two that I 
think wc might have subsisted on tlieni and 



flour, without the assistance of any other 
food. We Caught some (Catfish of 100 lb. 
W' : But their (\)mmon size is from 30 to 
70 lb. W' : The Turtle is commonly of 
30 lb. W': But seldom above that. They 
are Reckoned to be near as good as those 
taken at sea for soop. The 8"' Aug. Wo 
arrived at the Falls, which you'l sec is 
0S2 miles from Fi.rt Pitt, in 20 days. Wo 
Reckoned this good going. But I think with 
two or three Boats it might be done in half 
the time. The Falls ajipcar verry tremen- 
dous at first sight, and startled our people 
much, as thay had not been used to 
things of this kind before. I made Light of 
it. and after I had survey'd them well, ofltr- 
cd to go down them immediately in my 
Boat, which made many <if them swear 
that none but a mad man would attempt a 
thing of the kind. However, this pleased 
the Colonel so much that he swore there was 
nothing I ever sec that I would not at- 
tempt; however, be would not suffer me to 
go down that night. Xext morning .sent 
the Engineer Tlutchins to sec if a pas.sago 
could be found in the .South .shore, who re- 
turn'd at 1 1 o'clock with the report that it 
could not be eflected. Col. Wilkins Came 
to me again, tould me to be cautious of 
what 1 did, that he did not, by any means, 
desire me to hazard my Life in such a man- 
ner But if I really thought it could be 
done he would give me Leave. I jumpt at 
the o]iportunity, threw some B.aggage out of 
the Boat to make her Light in the head, and 
went off instantly. I Rccoiiitrcd the head 
of the fall well before I made the attempt, 
and when T had f(uind the pa.«.«agc went off, 
and in 2 minutes and 5 seconds pass'd 
the falls, that are near a Slile in Length, 
without the Least difficulty, all the peaple 
was looking out to see what would be our 
fate and when the Colonel see I bad gott 
safe down ln' Come to meet me on my Return 
to the Camp by Land it gave me bis hearty 
thanks. lie then ordered the whole to 
prepare to pa.s.s them, and that night we 
gott of 8 more, & next day completed the 
passage. These falls arc near a mile in 
licngth, and tboy ap]icar much Like those 
you have seen on Hudson's Itiver at Fort 
Miller. Having halted here a day or two 



Jiffairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 



to put every thing in proper order, on the 
13'h we embarked again, and the 23'' ar- 
rived at the Mississipy River where the Ohio 
has its confluence 482 miles from the falls 
the Whole Length of the Ohio lliver makes 
1164 english miles. We was very much 
surprised to see the difference of the two 
Rivers at First sight the Ohio Being a fine 
Clear Jcntle Current and the Mississipy a 
great Rapid full of sand Barrs, and so muddy 
that its impossible to drink it. Having 
made our desposition to assend the MLssis- 
sipi, we embarked Early nex' morning But 
mettwith so many difiicualties that we only 
got four miles that night. We continued 
in the same manner for three days more, and 
did not gain above 6 or 7 miles a day, 
the current in many places is so very Rapid 
and the Navigation so much interrupted by 
great quantities of trees that falls with the 
Banks of the River and drives with the fluds 
in the springs, that we many times Rowdfor 
3 and four hours and did not gain one 
mile these diflBcuIties with the inexperi- 
ence of our men and officers made the Colo- 
nel almost mad at last he came to a de- 
termination to send off some person to F> : 
Chartres to send down some empty battoes 
to Lighten some of ours that was so heavy 
loaded that they was not able to proceed, 
he again came to me to know if it would 
be agreeable to me to go on, I immediate- 
ly embraced his offer and in half an hour 
Left the Detachment with four men and two 
Indians in a very small Boat, we Rowd 
night and day for three days and the 31st 
Augi arrived at Keskiskee* a Town & 
River on the English shore about 18 
miles below F' : Chartres; this I think was 
the most dangerous and fatiguing journey 
I ever made, I was inform'd when I ar- 
rived atKeskcskee that I had, had the great- 
est Luck in the world that I had escapt 
the enemy Indians that several parties was 
then out and had Cuttoff a boat of the Com- 
panies, with 8 men, one of which got 
in, and a Connoc with 3 men, I sent of 
some boats that night to meet the Colonel 
and next morning set off in a Callash For 
Fort Chartres, as I said before is 18 



miles from Keskeskee and we pa.ss'' thro' 
the finest Country in the known world not 
a tree to be seen for several miles and the 
finest Land my Eyes ever beheld. Here they 
plant Indian Corn in the Spring and never 
touches it 'til fall when they go to fitch 
it home, and most of what I see is 10 & 
12 foot high, they raze Tobacco as fine 
as in Virginia, they have the greatest 
quantity of black cattle — the plains for miles 
are Covered with them — indeed most of the 
french peoples Riches Lies in Stock of that 
kind for there is no kind of money Current 
there Butt what they make themselves, which 
is Ijittle notes of so many Livers each, the 
horses are pritty good for Saddles, and might 
be made a great deal Better, But they are so 
careless of them that there is not one geld- 
ing in all the Colonic of the Illinois, all 
plowing k, Hauling is done by Bullocks. 
The Country abutt F : Chatres is free for 
many miles Round it and the finest meddow 
ever was seen, grass grows here within a 
mile of the Fort to a great highht, and such 
quantities of it that there might be hay 
made for 100000 head of Cattle every sum- 
mer, Fort Chartres is a midling sized 
Fort built of stone the walls about 2 foot 
thick and 20 foot high, its Built in a Re- 
gular Square with a Bastion at each angle 
with Loop holes to fire small arms thro', 
there are some port holes for great Guns, But 
they seldom use them for they shock the 
works too much, the barracks are very 
good built of stone. But they will not con- 
tain more than 200 men exclusive of ofli- 
cers. 

We have been very Lucky both with men 
and officers in Respect to health, when we 
took possission of the Fort. 

[The remainder of this letter is lost.] 

Y. 

(Illinois,) Fokt ChakTbes, 30th October, 1768. 

Dear Sir 

I had the pleasure to write you by Captain 
Forbes thelS'ii September when the 34th Re- 
giment embarked from hence for Fort Pitt, 
I had the pleasure to acquaint you then we 
were all arrived here in good health, and as 
the season was so far advanced we were in 



Affairs at Fort Charlres, 1768-1781. 



hopes wc should not be troubled with the 
disorders frequent in these Climes for this 
year, IJut we was soon convinced otherwise, 
On t>unday the 18"' Sep'. 1 was sitting at 
Dinner when a sudden Coldness struck mo 
all over without sajiiij; any thing of it I 
Rose from table and walk'd into the fields 
thinking to shake it off. IJut to no purpose, 
I then went to Bod and found myself siczed 
with a llottlitt which did not last long and af- 
ter slept pritty well till morning when I found 
myself quiet well, Itould the Doctor of what 
had happened, who said it would turn to an 
Intermitting fever and indeed so I found it, 
that day Cap'. Stewart [,' : Turner and 
20 men was siczed in much the same 
manner and so it Continued that in 3 
days time there was not one Commissioned 
Officer, non Commissioned or Private man 
But one Scrg'. 1 Corp', and about nine 
men but what w.-is siezed in the same man- 
ner next day as the Doctor had said mine 
came on again and in such a Violent man- 
ner that it laid me up for good. I had it 
six days with a Cold and hott fit every day 
But no shaking till the seventh when I 
had a very severe Cold fitt, and shuck very 
much the Doctor was pleased to see it 
and said he would soon put a stop to it, 
which he accordingly did, for from that 
time I had it no more, in this seven days 
I had five ditfcrent servants all taken ill, and 
should have been in the greatest distress 
had it not been for a Woman of the Ueg'. 
whom a few days before had Claimed 
me for a Country man & was very tender 
and good to me till I was quiet recovered 
in a few days I was able to make my appear- 
ance on the parade being the first of the 
whole Garri.son that wa.s Uikcn ill, on go- 
ing out 1 found that all or most of them 
was in a much more dangcroiLs way than I 
had been that there was hardly any but 
was dangerously ill of a nervous fever and 
1 Could plainly see wc should lyoose a great 
many men the first A'i.-'it I paid was to my 
Dear good friend, Capt Stewart who to my 
unspeakable grief I found was a dying man, 
and this had Like to have thrown me into a 
Kelap.se with greef the 29th Sep'. Lieut 
Turner died who you may remember was a 
very modest good man, the 30''' my Dear 



Stewart died and the 3 October Lieut Pat«r- 
son, the men now began to go off fast we 
for several days Carried out in a Cart four 
and five a day, at one time, men and their 
wives have been Curried to the graves in 
the samj Cart, and the poor Little Infant Or- 
|dians following, and no person to help or do 
the Least thing for them, we was now ar- 
rived at the greatest scenes of Calamity in 
the midst of which Col. Wilkins (who was 
thenLyingill himself) sent for metoaskmc 
to do the Adjutant's duty. I was unwilling 
to engage in it but thought this was no time 
to Uel'use any thing, and I was immediately 
put in order to do the duty, you may easily 
Conceive what a situation I was in .with all 
the Officers and men of the five compys 
so ill that we Could only mount a Corp", 
and six men and had to Guard a fort in the 
heart of an Enemys Country, The disorder 
still Ragged and 1 have the greatest Reason 
in the AVorld to believe it was Contagious 
for hardly any one Came into the fort but 
found themselves siezed soon after. We 
have now sent to the Grave three Officers, 
twenty five men Twelve Women and fifteen 
Children, since the 29"' Sep' and many 
more in a Very dangerous way, tho' I am 
in hopes the eould Weather will sood help 
us. 

Since I Recovered I thought it highly 
Necessary to make my Will in which I have 
Left every thing to your Disposall tho' 
Little as I have it Comes with a hearty wel- 
come I hope you will Receive this time 
enough to write in the Spring, if I dont 
hear from you then shall be very Uneasy. 



VI. 
(Illinois) Fobt Cuartbes, 12lh Febuary 1769. 
De.\r Sir 

I had the pleasure to write you the 30''' 
October bust by an Express that went from 
hence by land, with despatches for the 
Commander in Chief which was to acquaint 
him of our distressed situation at that time, 
1 then wrote you wc had Lost three Officers 
& twenty five men. since that we have 
Buried fifteen men more, .Mmost all the Wo- 
men and thirty Seven Children that arrived 



8 



Jiffairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 



lieie with the five companys in perfect 
health. 

The Colonel has been kind enough to Re- 
commend me for one of the vacant Ensigncy 
should the promotion go in the llcgim'. 
But there is so Little probability of it that I 
dont flatter myself the Lest with hopes of 
succeeding, tho' one would think it hard 
too as these arc so many Vacancies that 
some might not take Besides the (ient: 
that died here we have Jan Account of one 
Ens; Tracy being killed in a Duell at Fort 
Pitt, and Ensign Howard is on the decline 
of life here. 

When I wrote you 15''' Sept'' (which 
I sent by Capt. Forbes of the 34"' Re- 
gim') I gave you some Account of this 
Country It is certainly the finest Land in 
the known World, it Wants for nothing but 
inhabitants and cultivation to make it ex- 
ceed any part of America I have ever been 
in, You would be surprised to see how 
Luxuriously everykind of Vegetables grows 
here, — they grow Wheat, Oats, pease, and In- 
dian Corn, in great abundance, and there 
are such quantities of the finest Meadow 
that the grass is in Common to all. Their 
Cattle run in grass so high that you may be 
within five yards of a large Ox, and not see 
him. When the french (whom you know 
are a very Idle set of people in all parts of 
America they are in) Cut their grass its 
Common for them to take three or four 
teams to the Meddow in a morning, mow all 
day, and bring it home at night, which is all 
the Making the Hay gets here. The reason 
they give for bringing it home so soon is, 
that Were they to Leave it out two days it 
would be so much dryd with the exces.sive 
heat that it would be good for nothing. The 
Indians that live hereabouts are a very mean, 
Indolent Drunken set of people, whom 
the French have entirely at their command. 
Col. Wilkins is taking great pains to set- 
tle the Aflairs of the Collonie in some kind of 
Regulation, which as yet has been (since the 
English possessed it) without any kind of 
Laws but that of Military Decision. He lias 
now* granted commissions of the peace to 

* His Proclamation, based on Gage's order, is 
dated Nov. 21, 17G8. Tbe Courts Ijcgan Dec. (i, 
1768. 



several people, both french and English ; of 
those he has formd a Court of Judicature, 
who are allowed to determin on all causes 
of Debt, without a Jury. How this may 
answer with the Laws of great Britain I will 
not Pretend to say. He has appointed Mr. 
George Morgan President of this Court, 
which has given great offence to all the 
french inhabitants in the Colonic, he being 
LTniversally hated by all those people, and 
indeed has but few friends of any other Na- 
tion here (The Commandant excepted). In- 
deed it would surprise yon much to see how 
we are perplexd with party affairs in this 
Infant Collonie. The French to a man op- 
pose the Morganians with all their might 
and I believe would not Scruple to spend 
their Estates to have their Ends accomplish- 
ed, Indeed, if half what they allege be 
truth, they have great Cause of Complaint — 
for my own share I think there are faults 
on Both sides. The french are here (as in 
all other part.s I have seen them in) a Cun- 
ning, litigous, jealous, set of people. By 
what I can Learn their grand dispute arises 
from an Opinion of the Commandant fiivor- 
ing the Company which he is obliged to do 
in Consequenceof his orders from Gen. Gage 
because they are the only people that make 
use of English manufactures the others be- 
ing all French Wines &c., and of Course is 
Contraband trade. It would be too tedious 
to enter into a detail of the many scandalous 
practices that is made useof by both parties, 
to ruin others. Petitions from the french 
party to the Commandant day ly7i''7)/(7c«'iV/t 
Rchdlion. He on the other hand is en- 
deavoring to support the Companyall in His 
power by issuing His J^roclamations for 
bringing them to Justice and settling all 
their affairs on a solid foundation which he 
takes great pains to do, tho' I am afraid 
he will not accomplish it shortly : The lOtli 
December last Col. Wilkins ordered a Court 
of Inquiry to be held to settle sonic disputes — 
betwixt Mr. Morgan and the Ircnch people, 
It was (^irried on from day to day till the 
20th January with the greatest Rancour 
by both partys, and when it was over not 
the lest thing settled to either partys satis- 
faction. What is most extraordinary the 
french was not able to proove anyone thing 



Jiffairs at Fort Charlres, 1768-1781. 



They Alle{;cd against Mr. Jloripiu, It is said 
liL'i'o tliu iiruccediii^s will be published in 
one ut' the I'hihidulphia papers But I hope 
thoy will think better of it, and not expose 
themselves so I'ar. 

Tlio Spaniards make but an indiiTcrent 
appearant-e here, You know, bj'tlie Defini- 
tive Treaty of Peace, they were to have all 
the Lands to the Westward of the Mississippi 
lliver, in Consequence of which they sent 
one hundred men from the Havana Under 
the command of one C'apt. Don Hose,* an 
old experienced officer, to take possession 
of their part of the Louisiana Country lie 
took post at a place called paineour. about 
forty miles above this Fort where he has 
Commanded so much to the people's satis- 
faction, as will redound much to his honor, 
tho' he has been so L'nlueky with his 
people by deaths and desertions, that he has 
now only seventeen men left out of the 
hundred, It is now said there is another 
Officer comin;; up from the Ilavaua to Relieve 
him and live hundred Spanish Soldiers, who 
arc to be eni])li>y'd building a l''ort on the 
Missouri Kiver, which you may see by a map 
is about sixty miles from hence, on the Spa- 
nish shore. It is in the heart of the Coun- 
try of a Tribe of Indians of that name, who 
are very numerous and give law to all the 
Indians hereabout. 

It has been talked ever since we arrived 
here, of Col Wilkins having orders to es- 
tablish a post at a place call'd by the French 
Ptwt St. Vincent, the English call it 
Post.f It is on the Wabash Uiver, Its 
by Land 240 English miles but to go by 
Water is (JUO at lest from this place, and 
for this pur)iosc he is lilting up a very 
Large Boat, by Way ol' a Uow-galley which is 
to row with li4 (Jars, to Carr^' 35 men With 
six Mouths provisions &c and u Brass six- 

« Rioua readied St. Louis in 1708, but Sir 
Angc, the former Commnnder of Fort Chartros, 
rcnmincd in coinmnnd till of 1770. 

t Tliis is Vinccnnes, wliicli tlie Knglisli, who 
thouglii that every French place niiist necessa- 
rily bo tt Saint, chnnged lo St. Vincent. The 
French huvo a way of using au, aux before 
names, and Ihishns led to niislakcs liko that in 
the text. They would xpcak of Post Vinccnnet 
as au I'orif, at the I'ost. llonco ne have <iux 
/lre«, Oiark ; aux SaOItt, Ausable. 



pounder Mouutud on her forecastle, Tier 
Gunwales are rai.sed so high that the men 
are not to be seen Rowing, This Boat is to 
be Commanded by a Conunissioncd Officer, 
and is also to Cruise on the Wabas-h and Ohio 
Rivers, to intercept the french and Spanish 
traders from New Orleans, Carrying on an 
Illicit trade with our Indians at O Post and 
on the Rivers, Itis likewi.se to prevent them 
from killing Buffalo, which the people from 
Now Orleans have done in such quantities 
lately that were they allowd to continue it, 
they would soon destroy all those animals. ' 

I believe when I wrote you by Capt. 
Forbes I mentioned the farm Capt. Stewart 
and I had bought in Company, from which 
we had great expectations. But that poor 
man being so soon Cutt off, has Ren<lered all 
our hopes fruitless, for we was obliged to 
take in other partners that quiet dcstroj's 
all our endeavors, and things of all kinds 
being so extravagantly dear that I fear I 
shall not be able to save any thing out of 
my pay, had not these poor Genl~i : died 
since wo came here, I had some hopes of get- 
ting leave of absence to go to England, But 
since it has so happened, I fear I may now 
give up all hopes of it for life, Indeed I 
should not so much mind that were I in a 
part of America that one could have the 
least hopes of health, I cannot so much 
complain of it myself for I have been very 
hearty ever since the Stroke I had in Sep- 
tem',thatl mentioned to you in my bust, But 
it would shock a Turk to see what the Poor 
men, women, & children, have .suffered for 
want of proper nourishment. You may ea- 
sily Conceive what Wretched sttite a poor 
man must be in when in the higth of a 
fever to have nothing to drink but Cold 
Water— 

When the fevers had somewhat abated, a 
great many of the men was seized with a 
Bluddy flux, which now makes great havock 
amongst them, not a Week but we Burry 
some and when it will end f!ud only knows, 
for there are numbers of them just at Deaths 
door, you would pity them much to see 
them so shortly changed from a sett of fine 
stout hearty Young men, nowa wcak,feablc, 
emaciated poor Souls. I Believe by the 
time you have Head this far you will wi.ili 



10 



Affain at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 



for a Conclusion, and indeed so it really is 
time. But my heart wishes much to Converse 
with you and as I Cannot have that happi- 
ness, hope you will excuse this long epistle, 
Ensign Howard has been very ill all winter 
It has been offered to him that if he would 
give in his Resignation he might return to 
Europe and I believe I might have the offer 
of it on the same Conditions I had Mr. Ray- 
mond's, I consulted the Colonel in it and 
he advises me to wait and see what may be 
the Issue of the Last Recommendation. We 
have had several expresses from Fort Pitt 
this Winter and I was in great hopes of 
hearing from you by some of them but not 
a line has made its appearance, however 
there is a good time coming in the spring, 
I long much to know what luck I have had in 
the Philadelphia Lottery, and hope to hear 
you have put out that trifle to Interest. 

We have had a fine Winter here as any I 
have ever seen since I came to America and all 
the Gents: (except Howard) have been pret- 
ty healthy, I still keep bustling about am 
now busy fencing in a Garden for the men, 
which w<'' my own and the adjutants du- 
ty that I have done ever since poor Turner 
Died keeps me constantly employ'd and lam 
sure ads much to my health. Pray make 
my most sincere Respects to Miss Shipphard 
to all my Little Countrymen, MissM Bams- 
ley, Shiphard and Smith, and the Rest of 
your good fajnily, and may he who has the 
giving of all good gifts ever Bless you Sir 
& all your Undertakings, is the fervent 
prayer of 
Dear Sir, your poor batsincere friend, 
Geo: B0TRICKE. 

VIL 
FoET Chaetbes 27th June 1769 

Dear Sir 

Though I am not so happy as to have 
heard from you once since I left Phila- 
delphia, I have not mist any opportv of 
Writing to you, apd this by Mr, Morgan 
being a very good one I Cannot let it slip 
without letting you know that one of your 
friends is still among the living. — My last 
was of the lO"" Febr>'. which I hope you 



have Received by this time — In April I was 
Attack with a severe fever which kept me 
confined for ten days, and in May again 
much more severe than the Other tho' it 
did not last so long, since which I have 
been very hearty and indeed the whole Gar- 
rison are much recovered, tho' the Weath- 
er is most intolerably hott ; the men keep up 
their spirits very well, I am in hopes the 
seasoning (as they call it here) is now almost 
over. 

We have been all this Spring, under the 
greatest apprehension of an Indian Warr,* 
we had it from all quarters that several 
nations had entered into a League to strike 
the English in the Illinois Country this 
Spring, Col. Wilkins on this information 
very prudently filled all the stores with pro- 
visions and sent an Officer with the arm'd 
Boat to get in a quantity of AVood which 
was happily effected in a very short time 
and now we have 280 cords piled up under 
the AValls of the Fort and we can now bid 
defiance to all the Indians in America, — the 
16th April a party of the Kickapoes broke 
into a house in this Village; surprised a sol- 
dier and his Wife in Bed, scalp'd both and 
got off without the least hurt ; and the l-t"*" 
May another party of the Sax and Rey- 
nardsf attacked some of the Indians that 
live near this fort killed six, and Carried 
off their scalps, these strokes alarmed us 
much, obliged us to keep constantly in the 
Fort, &, watch Night and day, Its now 
said the stroke intended against us will be 
in the harvest time, But I am of an Opinion 
it will blow over for this time or we should 
have had more of it before now. 

I have had great hopes of getting leave 
from Col. Wilkins to return to europe, which 
he had in some measure promised me when 
the new adjutant arrived, but we have heard 
nothing as yet how those vacancies have been 
filled ; & Cap' Campbell, the Barrack mas- 
ter here, has got leave to return to Europe, 



* These apprehensions were caused by the 
threats of vengeance made by the Ottawas and 
their allies, the Kikapoos, Sacs and Foxes, 
against the Illinois, for the murder of Pontiac, 
at Cahokia by an Illinois. 

t Foxes (Outagamies.) 



Jiffairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 



11 



& b:u4 appointed me to net in his nli^cncc, 
with :i S;il;ii_v of two ^llillill>;s sterliii-^ p' 
day, This with two I oxju-i-t for doin;; the 
adjutant's duty, will I hope enable luc tu 
make you a Reuiiltauee of u luindrod Vork 
in a short time. If 1 have not some letters 
from you soon, I shall think you have <|uiet 
fori;ot uie. I'ray j;ive my kind respeet-s to 
Miss Jemima, and all the rest of your good 
family and believe mc 
I 'car sir 

Yours Most affectionately 

Geo. Butkiikk. 
To Cojttiiin BiirnsUi/ 

Superscribed 
To 

Captain ]5aknsi,kv Kstj' 

At Beasalcm in Uucks ("o 

Pennsylvania 
Pr : favor of } 

Geo. Morgan, Es<|': [ 

VIII. 
KoET CnAKTBEs2Utk Decern'' 1769. 
Dear Sih. 

I cannot let slip this opportunity tho' 
am at a loss what to write, "J'is almost 
two years since I had the pleasure to see 
you, and in all that time not one Line, tho' 
when I consider former times, [ am not 
so much surprised for I llcmemher when I 
was at Nia^^ara a letter iu two years was 
look'd upon as a f;reat favour. 

This is the fifth I have wrote you since I 
came to this place and 1 took p.Trlicular care 
to send them by good hands, ,so that I hope 
they are all come to hand. We are now in 
a melancholy situation we have not had 
the Least Accounts from any Quarter since 
the first of June, 'Tisthou^dit the Indians have 
Cut of the Kxprcsses from fort Pitt on the 
lliver Ohio, and we have Ace ' by french- 
men from New Orleans that since the Span- 
iards have returned t<j that place they have 
forbid all Kii;^lish or french from Landinj,' 
there, If this be true all our Commuica- 
tions are shutt up, the Indians are all out 
hunting now, But itM said we shall certain- 



ly have an Indian Warr in the S|(rin{?, In 
my la-t I iiil'nnn'il you of my intention to re- 
turn to Kurope, Hut I have fear 1 shall not 
I be able to Accomplish it, not only for tho 
1 lleason above f^iven, Hut my havin<;.Ho iiia- 
i ny einployni'ciits on my hands, which will 
llender it very ililficiilt. 

L now do the duty of Q Mas':, adju- 
: tant, Harrack Master and since the death of 
; poorCaptain Lieut Lane have been Oblijrcd 
j to act as paymaster tho' was •;iven to Under- 
I stiiid it Wits intetided for another jierson, 
there are two candidates for this place, vizt : 
liieut Chapman and one llumsey who you 
may remember in the 42' Kejrm', he is Ile- 
comniended for an IOnsij;ncy in this l{eg ; 
and if he succeeds the present Commanding 
Officer will give him the paymasters place, 
— I could not help observing to L', Colonel 
Wilkins that 1 thought itsomethiugstrange 
being desired to do a duty for a Kegim ,and 
the emoluments given to another Person, 
but he gave me to understand that he was 
a Better Judge for me, than 1 was for my- 
self, it then struck me of the Repeated Ad- 
vice you have given me, and I immediately 
tould him there was no kind of duty he 
would desire me to do ; but I should be hap- 
py in executing it, by this you will see I 
still am on a good footing with him. But 
you will |)itty me when 1 tell you that the 
whole Cor|) and he are on very Had terms, 
this makes me have a very difficult Card to 
play, however I hope to Uubb it out for a 
few years in order to save a little more money 
and 1 hope to be able to .send you a Bill iu 
the Spring for one hundred Penn : Curr, I 
have not time to .s;iy more at present, there- 
fore Conclude with my sincere respects to all 
your family wishing you and them a Merry 
Christmas and many a happy New Year. 

Geo. Bl'TRICKK. 

1\. 

Letter dated at I'Vrt Chartres, on the ;ill' ' 
May 1770 — is sent " by .some' Indians just 
going off for Fort I'itt by land" — speaks of 
some money matters, and the neces.saries of 
Life there are •' very dear" — lie still con- 
tinues to hold the numerous offices in the 
Hegi, before described, and says" I keep in 



12 



Jiff airs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 



with the person [Col. Wilkins ?] as you de- 
sired, tho' I assure you it is attended with 
many disagreeable Circumstances, however 
I shall still adhere to your advice. I am 
sorry to tell you there are many disagreea- 
ble things passes in this part of the world. 
I have Steered clear as yet, some think it 
will be a means of bringing us back to Phil- 
ad^ for Court Matials &,<: &c." 

His next letter dated June 13, 1770, 
mentions the preceding letter, and says " I 
have no news, health and I are again friends 
and we go hand in hand in spite of Climate, 



or a most shocking unhealthy Country,"_ 
&c. 

The next letter dated May 2, 1771, still 
complains that ho has not yet rec ' a line 
from Cap', B — sends this by way of Fort 
Pitt, and a draft will be sent by Lieut. 
Chapman of same Reg. " who will embark 
lor Philadelphia, by way of New Orleans in 
a few days," and adds, 

" 1 am sorry to hear there is so great a 
probability of a Spanish war. We have fre- 
quent alarms here of enemy Indians, we 
have lost one man kill'd and scalped this 
Spring." 



H I 



9 ^1 



